Tuesday, September 25, 2018

This is a collaboration between Xyron and Clearsnap. Clearsnap sent the Xyron Design Team $25 worth of goodies from their catalog to create with. I already own a bunch of ColorBox pigment ink pads and several ColorBox Petal Point pigment ink pads so I decided to try their Smooch Pearlized Accent Ink - a product I had not used before - in 5 different colors (I also received a Cat's Eye pigment ink pad).

Smooch Pearlized Accent Inks come in a small container with an applicator attached to the lid. It looks similar to a nail polish bottle, except the applicator is not a brush, instead it has a small pointy ended, slightly flexible tip. The ink has a metallic-like shine, perfect for adding accents to projects. It also works well for making marbled papers. There are a lot of videos on YouTube already but it's so easy that you probably don't need a video. I tried colored cardstock but the inks didn't show up well - I recommend using white or cream colored cardstock. I also tried one color and didn't like it. I recommend using 2 or 3 colors for contrast (you can see my failed attempts to the left of the tray in the photo below).

Disclaimer: Please help support my work in this small way - just use my links if you plan to purchase anything - there's no extra cost to you. Here's the official jargon: links, affiliate links, and cookies may be used in this post and on this site. Using this site implies your consent. I participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, Share a Sale, and other affiliate programs; these affiliate advertising programs provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and/or other affiliated sites. This helps offset a small portion of my crafting addiction... uh, hobby. I am truly thankful for your kind support! I also receive free products from my design team companies, possibly monetary compensation, and sometimes free products for review. Regardless, all opinions are my own. Google and Blogger use cookies to provide and improve their services. See Notice at bottom of blog for a longer description and/or see the full Privacy Policy for even more details.

2. Cut several sheets of white cardstock to about 5x7 inches (I cut mine larger than the card base so I could trim down to the area I liked best). Fill a tray with about 1/2 inch of water; I used the lid from a take-out box. Shake Smooch bottles before using. Tap Dusk around on surface. You may not see it but it will be there. Tap Sugarberry in places. Note: the longer you hold the tip in the water, the more the ink will dispense. Alternate between these colors until the surface is fairly well covered. Tap in alternating rings, one inside another. Once you have the desired coverage (don't overdo it), use a toothpick to gently go through the water in a snaking motion to swirl the colors. Take one of the sheets of cardstock and, starting with one edge, gently but quickly drop the paper onto the surface of the water then pull it back out. Do not touch the paper surface or the ink will smear. Set aside to dry. You may want to do a few practice sheets with scrap cardstock. Empty water, wipe tray with paper towel, then repeat until you have about 3 or 4 good designs. Once dry, cut two sheets to 4 x 5 1/4 inches; set these aside for now.

Next you'll die cut all the pieces for the card. I recommend watching the video now (step 9) so you know how everything goes together before cutting and assembling.

Purple - big smiley square, big solid square, smiley pull tab, small pop up piece, use two small solid squares to make a small frame for inside pop up
Marbled - two big rectangles, big frame; use inside big frame piece to die cut with small solid square in center for inside pop-up

Also hand cut a small white square of cardstock to go behind arrow.

4. See photo below. Cut Happy Halloween oval sentiment with bat (Halloween Charms) from purple cardstock and the bat area from black cardstock. Trim out bat with detail scissors. From the same set, die cut bat charm and spider charm from black cardstock. Add eyes to spider and eyes and mouth to bat with Orchid Frost Smooch ink; add wing lines to bat with Sugarberry Smooch ink (don't use the stencil feature with the die, the ink will likely run under it). Trim charm ring loop from bat. Finally die cut two ghosts from white cardstock. Add eyes and mouth through stencil in die with .25 black Copic Multiliner SP, leaving small triangles of white for highlights (you could also use a white gel pen to add the highlights after coloring). Note: the Copic Multiliner SP versions are refillable so you don't have as much plastic waste going into land fills; you may also change the nibs, although I have yet to do so and have used mine for years. Trim off charm ring loops.

5. From light orange cardstock, die cut pumpkin (Autumn Elements) and Jack-O-Lantern (Halloween Elements) with the face die. From black cardstock also cut a Jack-O-Lantern without the face; you may want to trim it down a little - adhere it behind orange to fill in face. Shade edges and left side using orange ink from Pinwheel Petal Point. I love these inks - the applicator lets you get into small areas. Use the green ink to color the stems. Use Pumpkin Smooch to draw lines on pumpkins as shown; use Green Apple Smooch on the stems to give them a bit of shine. Die cut BOO! from black cardstock (Halloween Elements).

9. Watch the following video for assembly. To repeat, I recommend watching the entire video first then watching again while assembling so you have an idea of how it all goes together before doing it. Assemble the frame pull as shown in video but don't adhere to card front yet - use liquid glue to adhere white square behind arrow during assembly. Adhere marbled rectangles inside frame pull. Decorating continues below, including pop up for inside frame.

10. For front of frame pull, adhere large marbled frame leaving top free as shown in video. Adhere graveyard scene (it should fit perfectly inside bottom). Use liquid glue behind the web without adhesive to glue to frame top as shown - from behind, trim off any part that sticks over the top since it will be opening at that hinge.

11. Cut about 3 inches or so of clear thread to hang spider. Feed through spider's charm ring. Add a dab of liquid glue to inside top edge of small marbled frame (the one that will go on the pop up platform with the spider). While holding up thread, place spider inside frame so it is centered then put the two thread ends in glue. Sandwich with purple frame (it should already have Xyron adhesive on it). Trim off thread ends flush with purple frame. Adhere one of the ghosts to frame such that it overlaps the spider's legs - add glue to spider's legs behind ghost to hold in place (if the spider spins, it will probably get crushed when the frame pull card is closed). Adhere spider web to inside frame pull card; adhere frame with spider to pop up platform. Adhere BOO! inside frame pull card as shown.

12. Adhere spooky tree and Jack-O-Lantern where shown on right side of card. Line up frame pull card on front of card then mark arrow location in pencil as shown in video. Use 1" circle punch to cut tabs. Adhere frame pull to card as shown in video (liquid glue should be strong enough - no need for staples). Use liquid glue down back of leaf stem and adhere where shown. Adhere bat, pumpkin, and ghost to front of card using dimensional tape.* Adhere Happy Halloween oval sentiment inside of card.

Tuesday, September 11, 2018

This project is a collaboration between Xyron and Derwent Academy. Derwent Academy sent the Xyron Design Team fine tipped Water-Soluble Markers, Twin-Tip Markers, and a pad of Heavyweight Marker Paper. My first thought was that these markers would work great in a planner, but I don't do much with planners (mostly only when traveling). I decided to use them to color a Halloween scene using the silly birds from Bird Crazy by Tim Holtz and Stampers Anonymous. They are so wacky! I usually like to color them in bright colors - these markers fit the bill.

A touch of Glossy Accents and some Glitter Gloss Nuvo Aqua Shimmer really make the image pop - unfortunately they don't photograph well so you'll have to trust me on this. I kept the background simple and light so the focus would be on the foreground action. The eyes say it all. I can just imaging the green bird thinking "maybe if I hold really still it will go away."

Disclaimer: Please help support my work in this small way - just use my links if you plan to purchase anything - there's no extra cost to you. Here's the official jargon: links, affiliate links, and cookies may be used in this post and on this site. Using this site implies your consent. I participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, Share a Sale, and other affiliate programs; these affiliate advertising programs provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and/or other affiliated sites. This helps offset a small portion of my crafting addiction... uh, hobby. I am truly thankful for your kind support! I also receive free products from my design team companies, possibly monetary compensation, and sometimes free products for review. Regardless, all opinions are my own. Google and Blogger use cookies to provide and improve their services. See Notice at bottom of blog for a longer description and/or see the full Privacy Policy for even more details.

2. Cut marker paper to 5x7 inches to give some wiggle room for stamping - just be sure the stamping stays within 4 1/2 x 6 1/2 inches (you may want to lightly mark guides with pencil); it will be trimmed down to this later. If you are confident, you could cut it to this size now. In Jet Black StazOn ink, stamp the two birds (Bird Crazy), spider (Mini Halloween 4), broom, hat, and pumpkin (Crazy Things) on Post-it Tape. Trim around each with detail scissors. Note: you don't have to trim around solid black bits that stick out, such as the birds' legs - just trim them away.

3. In Nocturne VersaFine Clair Ink, use a Stamp Platform to arrange then stamp the broom, pumpkin, and hat on marker paper (it helps to temporarily place birds as well, adjusting as necessary). Carefully blot with a clean scrap paper, then heat set with heat tool. If it is not completely dry, it will smear when coloring or ink blending. Mask pumpkin and hat (not broom). Next stamp birds then spider where shown. Remove masks for now.

4. Color image with Fine-Tipped Water-Soluble Markers and Twin-Tip Markers. For blending between with a lighter and darker color, scribble the darker color on a craft sheet or acrylic block then pick up the ink with the lighter marker and color (I highly recommend practicing on scrap paper first - I stamped a bird on a scrap piece of marker paper to color before trying it on the final version). Scribble off markers to get rid of any left-over color before putting away. Do not go over an area while wet or it may pull up the paper surface. Let it dry completely before adding any layers of color. Once done, trim to 4 1/2 x 6 1/2 inches.

5. Add masks to all items. Add a strip of Post-it Tape across the bottom to make a line between the ground and background. Use a blending tool and foam with Milled Lavender Distress Ink to blend the background behind the birds, starting from the masks in and outward motion each time (prevents them from peeling up), covering most of the top half (you don't have to do the edges since they will be covered with other inks). Remove only the strip of masking and add a clean strip barely above the line created. Blend bottom with Dried Marigold. Remove strip masking. Starting from off the edges (recommend doing this on a craft sheet), blend Wilted Violet Distress Ink in a circular motion around edges as in photo (use less ink at bottom). Next blend with Dusty Concord just on the very edges. Remove all masks. Stamp Happy Halloween (Mini Halloween 4) where shown using Nocturne VersaFine Clair ink. Blot and heat set.

6. Run black cardstock (step 1) and image through Xyron 9" Creative Station with permanent adhesive. Rub around all edges. Turn over then carefully peel the backing away from the black cardstock (this prevents the cardstock from curling). Adhere to card base. Do the same with the image.

Friday, September 7, 2018

Here is another sweet stamp image by Dreamerland Crafts, called True Friendship. I decided to make a greeting card with it, something that could be sent to a close friend to show her how much she means to you. I chose brightly colored Doodlebug Design paper for the color scheme and used Schmincke watercolors to color the image. These watercolors are top-of-the-line... lightfast so they will last without fading or changing color. I love how bright they are. Jackson's Art, where I bought mine, often has a sale on watercolors - I believe your first order will have 10% off when using my link (this should show up in checkout, before payment).

I kept the card fairly simple since the colors are so bright and cheerful; it didn't need much more. Just a few crystal iridescent sequins are the only embellishment. The card is also fairly flat, making it easy to fit into a standard A7 envelope.

Disclaimer: Please help support my work in this small way - just use my links if you plan to purchase anything - there's no extra cost to you. Here's the official jargon: links, affiliate links, and cookies may be used in this post and on this site. Using this site implies your consent. I participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, Share a Sale, and other affiliate programs; these affiliate advertising programs provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and/or other affiliated sites. This helps offset a small portion of my crafting addiction... uh, hobby. I am truly thankful for your kind support! I also receive free products from my design team companies, possibly monetary compensation, and sometimes free products for review. Regardless, all opinions are my own. Google and Blogger use cookies to provide and improve their services. See Notice at bottom of blog for a longer description and/or see the full Privacy Policy for even more details.

4. Die cut blue cardstock with largest Floral Oval die (I used Core'dinations Distress Cardstock but it might be hard to find; one of the Brights might work though).

5. Die cut image using pierced oval (note: the oval I used just barely fit - it was difficult covering the dots on the Floral Oval - you may want to use a different oval to cut the image; I should probably have cut scrap paper first to see how it would work, sigh). Adhere to blue floral oval (step 4).

I am Certified Copic Instructor and formerly a Class Instructor for Michaels (PaperEd: scrapbooking, card making, Copic coloring). My first design team was for Elizabeth Craft Designs 2014, followed by ECD's Susan Tierney-Cockburn's DT, 2015 - part of 2016, then finally back to the ECD team for the rest of 2016. I was also part of the Oak Tree Stamps DT 2015, Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko Artist in Residence Program 2016, Frantic Stamper DT Jan/Feb 2017 and Rubbernecker Stamps DT, Sep 2017-Jan 2018. I was a guest designer for Paper Smooches (October 2016) and Your Next Stamp (May 2017). I am currently on the Dreamerland Crafts and Xyron Design Teams.

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I receive free products and/or possibly monetary compensation from a few of the companies (e.g. for working on a design team or doing a product review). I also get a small credit for referrals clicked through from my pages (i.e. affiliate links); this does not increase your price but does help me to be able to create more since it goes right back into craft supplies. Of course I spend WAY more on craft supplies than I should... but that's another story. Regardless, all opinions are my own. Required jargon: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, Share a Sale, and other affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and/or other affiliated sites. Note also that this site may use browser cookies and possibly personal data; Google's Blogger software (used for this site) uses cookies to provide and improve their services or for ad tracking and compensation (AdSense). By using this site, you consent to this use, including those for ad personalization (e.g. by collecting personal data). See Privacy Policy for more information and opt-outs. Thank you for your kind support of my work! I really appreciate it!